Acting makes up for frustrating story in 'Rust and Bone'

In French director Jacques Audiard's audacious and at times frustrating "Rust and Bone," a whale trainer who loses her legs forms a complicated relationship with a guy who makes money with his legs.

It is an often-absorbing film that benefits from the nuanced performance of Marion Cotillard as Stephanie, the double amputee, or "rust" in the title, and relative unknown Matthias Schoenarts as Ali, the animal-like fighter who must break bones in his hands to save a life.

But it also suffers from narrative lapses, not to mention a pat ending, which makes one wonder why Audiard, the "A Prophet" filmmaker who co-wrote the script, didn't use his 122-minute running time more efficiently.

"Rust and Bone" is based on two short stories from the book of the same name by Canadian author Craig Davidson. One is about a male whale trainer who loses a leg in an accident with the orca whales he trains. The other is about a kickboxer.

In fusing the two stories together, turning the trainer into a woman, Audiard offers a showcase for his leads, particularly Cotillard. The director crafts a character study in which two lost and very different souls eventually find each other.

It starts in the South of France, where the scuffling Ali and his 5-year-old son, Sam, once used by his mother to smuggle drugs, come to live with Ali's sister and her husband. He finds works as a club bouncer and security guard, but dreams -- and trains -- for a kickboxing career.

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The first we see of Stephanie are her legs. She's on the ground outside of a club after a skirmish. Ali pulls her to safety and drives her home, in her car, much to the chagrin of her controlling boyfriend.

Conveniently, Ali leaves his number.

She eventually calls him, well after an accident at the marine park, her legs amputated below the knees. "What did you do with my legs," she shouts upon awakening in the hospital.

Her descent into depression and the slow climb of her recovery is the strongest part of the film, allowing Cotillard -- who won an Academy Award for her portrayal of French chanteuse Edith Piaf in "La Vie en Rose" -- to show how she can project a damaged psyche with a mere glance, facial expression, sigh or those deep-pooled eyes.

Now alone, Stephanie turns to Ali for companionship, which starts innocently enough. He's good for her, but unapologetically detached from everyone, even his son, who disappears from the film for long periods of time, returning mostly when its convenient.

Stephanie and Ali do become intimate, but in a noncommittal way. She needs to find out if "it works" and doesn't want romance. It makes for some tender but awkward sex scenes.

She eventually is fitted with prosthetic legs, which results in one of the film's most touching and quietest scenes as Sam asks to see them.

Ali begins winning money in a brutal street form of fighting; Stephanie handles the betting for him.

When one of Ali's freelance jobs results in his cashier sister being fired and later evicting him, he runs off in the dark of night, leaving everyone, including Stephanie and Sam, behind.

The film's final act is also its most contrived and unsatisfying, undercutting the dramatic effect and emotional ambiguity of all that came before it. Let's just say that while it was made in France, "Rust and Bone" has a Hollywood ending that rings hollow.

That doesn't take away from the superlative performances; the filmmakers' skill, sensitivity and technical prowess in showing Stephanie's physical and psychological transformation; the gritty cinematography of the South of France; or Audiard's depiction of two people who learn the hard way that they need each other.

Doug Pullen may be reached at dpullen@elpasotimes.com; 546-6397. Follow him on Twitter at @dougpullen and on Facebook at facebook.com/dougpulleneptimes. Read Pullen My Blog at elpasotimes.com/blogs

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What: "Rust and Bone" ("De rouille et d'os"). In French with English subtitles.

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